Ink fountain typing machine



' May 16, 1939. e. E. PELTON INK FOUNTAIN TYPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30,1938 4 Sheets-Sheet l May 16, 1939. PELTO, 2,158,944

INK FOUNTAIN TYPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 f 4.; a72 4a I! 66 J4; J4 119 In; a! i- & 5 60 i n I i I HUI! H I" fz'gflciflIIIIIIII/II,I,,II

May 16, 1939. e. E. PELTON INK FOUNTAIN TYPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30,1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 m 16, 1939. P LTO'N 2,158,944

INK FOUNTAIN TYPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INK FOUNTAIN TYPINGMACHINE George E. Pelton, Middlebm'g, Va. Application December 30, 1938,Serial No. 248,551

20 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ink fountain typing machinesand particularly to improvements in inking mechanisms of such machines.Typewriters and adding machines are examples of typing machines ingeneral use which may bema'de more eflicient by the use of the improvedinking mechanisms.

The principal object of the invention is to provide greatly improved andsimpler ways of maintaining pigment ink in a writing ribbon of a typingmachine, in suitable quantities at all times.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved means ofsupplying a heavy ll pigmentink to the face of an ink transfer memberfor transfer to one face of a writing ribbon uniformly.

Another object of this invention is to provide an inking mechanism offewer parts and less so expensive to manufacture; also to provide animproved inking mechanism which'may feed ink from time to time to aribbon not more than one-fourth inch wide but a ribbon which is twentyto twenty-four yards in length, in such quan a tities as may bedesirable for the work in hand, and a mechanism which permits the ribbonto remain in contact with the peripheries of both inking wheels duringthe entire life of the said ribbon; also to provide a mechanism whichkeeps 30 the ribbon taut and smooth and flat in the machine and on thespools regardless of whether the inking rollers at each end of the inkfountain or ink reservoir are rotating and supplying ink or not; also toprovide an inking mecha- 35 nism near each spool of such constructionthat it operates with great ease and smoothly and very efficiently forplacing an extremely heavy pigment ink upon one face of the ribbon in assmall quantities or as large quantities as may be required by the workwhich the stenographer desires to do; also to provide a novel and uniquemethod of supplying heavy pigment ink to a writing ribbon withoutlifting said ink from a low-lying reservoir thus utilizing the force of45 gravity and lessening the load placed upon the mechanism which movesthe ribbon back and forth past the typing position, since it is themovement of the ribbon that must after all supply the power to operatethe inking mechanisms 50 in ink fountain typing machines; also toprovide gears of unique design which move with the greatest ease and thehighest eiliciency with less force imparted by the writing ribbon thanheretofore.

55 Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description of an embodiment thereof: 7

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a portion of an ink fountain typing machineshowing the improved inking mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the improved inking mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through theinking mechanism along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1. 10

Fig. 4 is a view showing the ink reservoir in longitudinal section, theview being taken horizontally along line 4-4 Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig.1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of the inkingmechanism and illustrating the manner in which the inking wheel is movedinto mesh and out of mesh with the gear of the inking roller.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken diametrically through the inking wheel.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view through a modified form of inking wheel.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of a substantially non-ink-absorptive rawsilk screen.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken transversely through the raw silkscreen along the line Ill-ill of Fi 9.

Fig. 11 is a top (fragmentary) plan view illustrating a modified form ofinking mechanism for inking a ribbon.

Fig. 12 is an end elevation looking at the front of the inking mechanismillustrated in Figure 11.

Figure 13 is a side elevation, looking at the inner side of the modifiedform of inking mechanism of Fig. 11.

It is no uncommon thing to find a large omce in which a few typewritersare used exclusively for writing which must always be intensely black. Aribbon is discarded after two or three days.

use.

Double ribbon typewriters have been proposed wherein the ink used wouldbe a black pigment ground in oil but not of the type employed in makingthe usual commercial black record type- .writer ribbon. Since the inkwas to be lifted from the bottom of an ink reservoir up a tube in theform of a diaphanous film, and since there was noway of keeping the inkflowing to the very thin opening for withdrawal of ink, the resultssecured were not of commercial value. The proposed machine employed twointerwinding ribbons. There was loss of power in lifting the ink insteadof feeding it by gravity and there was further loss in feeding the inkto one ribbon which had to be interwound with the writing ribbon. All ofthe space of the spool is utilized by the present invention for thewriting ribbon. The mechanisms of the present invention make it possibleto easily and conveniently feed an extremely thick, heavy pigment ink invery minute quantities in the form of a thin, narrow film to the face ofan ink roller and then to remove from said roller a film of desired sizeand design for transfer to a portion of one face of a writing ribbonwhich winds alone into the spool and which may be very long.

By the use of gears of the type illustrated in the drawings and by useof the mixing means shown and described herein, it is possible toefficiently feed thick, heavy, pigment ink to a ribbon for use withextremely small type such as micro or elite, in evenamounts during thelife of the fabric of the ribbon so that the typist may now use the samewriting ribbon for a long period and have her writing an intense blackat all times. I have discovered that the ink which is very thick andheavy must be agitated if it'is to flow by gravity through a thinaperture, for example an opening .007 of an inch wide. I have discoveredalso that it is essential to spread said ink over a portion of saidribbon if the ink is fed to the ribbon by means of a delicate thin rimof an inking wheel which feeds a steady and continuous line of thick,pigment ink. The present invention includes an ink spreading means ofunique character which is highly eflicient.

I have discovered the important and revolutionary method illustrated anddescribed herein of feeding heavy pigment ink down instead of lifting itup, thus utilizing the force of gravity.

In the construction show in the various figures, I have illustrated myinvention as applied to an ordinary typing machine.

In Figs. 1 and 2, I5 represents the frame of a typing machine having aplaten l0, and I! represents the narrow writing ribbon which is guidedinto operative relation to the platen by means of a vibrator l8, ofusual construction. l9 and 20 represent the ribbon spools which areactuated in the usual manner so that the ribbon is fed from one spool tothe other, back and forth in the machine. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thetyping machine is provided with an inking mechanism near each spool, itbeing understood, however, that only a single mechanism may be used ifdesired. The inking mechanisms may be arranged in any desired locationand may be secured to the frame of the typing machine itself or to a newtop plate which may be securely fastened. to the frame with screws.

In the particular construction illustrated in Fig. 1, the writing ribbonI1 is guided in any suitable manner, for example by means of a pair ofslotted guides 25, each of which has a lower portion suitably fastened,for example, by means of a screw threaded part 26 engaging in a threadedaperture in the top plate 23. Additional guides are shown in the form ofpulleys 41 from which the ribbon l1 passes in contact with felt pads l6,rigidly mounted about the upper end portions of supporting posts 29carried by and extending upwardly from the base plate 23. From said inkpad the ribbon passes into the winding spool. When said ribbon llunwinds from a spool, it is kept under tension and restraint and heldtightand taut by the felt pad I6 assisted by the guide pulley 41. Thenumeral 48 is a nut which holds a metal member tight against felt padIS. The ribbon is kept smooth and flat and tight so that it winds upunder considerable tension and occupies less space in the spool and itnever becomes creased and baggy and wavy. The pigment ink may be appliedto a face of ribbon I! by the two inking wheels 30 which are mountedupon shafts 35 and firmly held by the nuts 3|. The lower end portions ofshafts 35 are journalled through the arm plate and close to the baseplate each shaft carries a small gear 31,

The portion of the ribbon ll lying between the guides 25 and pulleys 41has close contact and engagement with the peripheries of inking wheels30 and has such frictional engagement there with that during movement ofthe ribbon, rotary motion will be imparted to said inking Wheels by theribbon. The periphery of each wheel is formed with upper, lower andintermediate series of teeth being 6!, 62 and 63. These teeth not onlyserve to create a good frictional binding between the ribbon and theinking wheels, but in addition they serve as means for applying ink to aface of the ribbon. It should be noted that the intermediate teeth are agreat deal wider than the upper and lower teeth. The intermediate teethmay be wide enough to more than cover the portion of the ribbon markedby the type. If so desired the inking wheel may be formed to place linesof ink upon a face of ribbon I! as shown at 42 in Figure 8.

Immediately after the ink has been placed on a face of the ribbon I1,that particular face passes from pulley 47 to ink pad I6 and the saidpad serves to spread the ink evenly upon and into the interstices ofribbon I! as the ribbon moves with a sliding motion across the felt pad.The felt pad may be substantially non-ink-absorptive. If a slightlyabsorptive pad is employed, it will take up little of the thick pigmentink from the face of the ribbon but instead will force the ink into theinterstices of the ribbon and will spread the ink out into a thinnerfilm and always on that face which is away from the writing surface whenthe ribbon passes to the typing or printing position. Of course 'wherelarge type are used this is not essential but I prefer to place fresh.ink on that face of the ribbon which is struck by the type and then thetype may force the pigment ink through the interstices of the ribbon tothe writing paper or writing surface.

. While I have illustrated one reservoir for ink 22, if desirable onesmall reservoir may be used near each spool. in its elevated position bybracket 64. While a single'bracket has been shown, it is obvious thatseparate brackets for the front and rear portion of reservoir 22 may beprovided, if so desired. Tubular housings 43 extend down from thereservoir 22 and are concentric with concaved recesses formed in theinner surface of the bottom of said reservoir. Through the housings 43extend rotary inking rollers 5| which fit snugly in the housings butsufiicient space is provided between the surfaces of the inking rollersand the inner surfaces of said housings to permit a stream of ink tomove downwardly by gravity through the space marked 45, the snug fittingof the housing over the roller causing the ink to spread in a film oversaid roller. A thick collar of felt 66 may be used about the rolleropposite the inking wheel 30 in order tochecl: downward Ink reservoir 22is supported flow of the ink and to eliminate any opportunity fort-theink to flow too freely so that it may have to be drained off. By actualtests I have found that when using a heavy pigment ink of the kindordinarily used in commercial black record typewriter ribbons and whenusing an opening in the bottom of the reservoir approximately .007 of aninch wide and when using a thick collar of felt about the rolleropposite the inking wheel, there inno surplus ink and no ink drains downfrom the'flower portion of the said roller but all of said ink which isnot fed to the inking wheels remains in its proper place ready for usewhen the inking wheels move to take it up and transfer it by contact toa face of said ribbon When using a pigment ink that has been thinnedwith mineral oil or other suitable oil until it is highly fluid, then itis necessary to drain off the surplus ink into a container underneaththe plate 23. The thick felt collar aboutthe ink roller also provides agood backing for the inking wheels 3|] and assures a good supply of inkand a proper transfer of ink from the face of the ink roller 5| to thewheel 30. In order that the inking wheel may contact the ink on theroller 5|, a portion of the housing opposite the inking wheel is missingleaving a small portion of the roller 5| exposed and open providing theopening 61. The inking wheels 30 may contact the ink on rollers 5| 'or Imay use a screen 34 which is formed of raw silk, preferably still fullof the natural gum put there by the silk Worm which causes the screen tobe substantially non-ink-absorptive, extending across each of theopenings 61 and these screens of raw silk have their end portionssecured by screws 33 in bracket '64, Since the screens are securelyfastened at both ends, they will be firmly held under slight tension anddue to the very open weave of the raw silk, the pigment ink will passthrough said screens to the edges of wheels 30. I prefer to form thescreen of two thicknesses of the raw silk, each being approximately .005of an inch thick so the total thickness of each screen is approximately.01 'of an inch. I utilize a screen that is formed by folding a halfinch strip having woven edges and ironing same smooth as shown in Fig.at 34'. I control the amount of ink passing down the rollers 5| bygravity by having said rollers very close to the innersurfaces of saidhousings 43. When using very small type it may be desirable to have thespace between said roller and said housing approximately .004 of an inchin width. In this manner less ink will pass down the periphery of saidroller 5| and as soon as said ribbon l1 has sufficient ink, I may ceasefeeding ink to it and use said ribbon for considerable time before againfeeding any' ink to it. If the felt collar is used, and the opening isas small as mentioned above between the roller and the housing, and theroller is left stationary, no ink will drain off said roller and nofurther ink will pass out of the reservoir to the face of said roller nomatter how long a time elapses until the roller 5| is again rotated. Theraw silk screen also serves to restrain and hold back the ink fromtheperiphery of the inking wheel 30 and the screen prevents theformation of globules or drops of ink upon the exposed portion of theroller 5| while it is stationary. It

will thus be seen that the raw silk screen serves to retard the feed ofink during transferring of the ink to the face of the ribbon and alsowhen the ink is not being transferred and the roller 5| is entirelystationary and rigid and still, said screen acts to prevent a globule ordrop of ink from forming on the exposed surface of the roller 5|. Whenlarge telegraph type are utilized in a typing machine, the raw silkscreen may be used in a single layer or may be dispensed with entirely.

When feeding a large amount of ink, I may' utilize a space that isasmuch as .015 of an inch between the roller 5| and the housing 43 and mayutilize a roller that is made entirely of metal, in which event I employa drain cup 52 having an outstanding, circumferentially extending flange68 constituting a large gear for meshing with the small gear 31 which isbelow the inking wheel 30. This cup 52 not only serves as a gear topermit rotary motion to be transmittedto the inking roller 5| but alsoconstitutes means for taking care of any surplus ink drained of! thesurface of said roller. Openings 63 in the cup permit the ink to drainout of the same and under each of these cups 52, the plate 23 is formedwith a suitable number of openings 10 through which the ink drains intodrain member ll, detachably mounted below the base plate 23. Theconventional pigment ink for a commercial typewriter ribbon is so thickthat it quickly jells and coagulates when not kept agitated or mixed.Thereforewhen the typing machine is not in use, the coagulated ink willquickly become so thick that it will not flow by gravity through theextremely small aperture between the inking roller 5| and the housing43. I cause the ink to become sufflciently fluid to flow through theextremely narrow aperture by means of an agitator or mixer 44 formedfrom a strip of metal secured midway its length to the upper end of theroller by screw 46 and having its-end portions bent rupwardly to provideblades or arms which move in a circular path during rotation of theroller 5| and at approximately the same peripheral speed as said roller5|. Since the agitator is securely fastened to the upper end of roller5|, it is certain to move through the ink whenever said roller rotates.It is only desirable. to have the roller rotate when ink is to be fed tothe periphery of inking wheel 30 for transfer to a face of ribbon ll.Therefore much of the time inking wheel 30 is not in contact with inkfrom said roller and therefore said wheel is mounted upon a pivoted arm60 instead of in a rigid position and a stationary position. The freeend of the pivoted arm is beveled to form a cam surface 12 leading to anotch 13 to receive a tooth 14 of a lever 15 having a knob 2| which ispivoted to base plate 23 and extends transversely of the pivoted arm63..

This lever 15 has a finger hold or knob 2| projecting outwardly from itsfree end and, upon inspection of Fig. 6, it will be readily seen thatwhen the lever 15 is swung to the position shown in full lines, thespring 16, which is anchored at one end to the base plate and at itsother end to the free end portion of the pivoted arm 60,- may draw thearm 60 towards the cup 52 and hold the small gear 31 in mesh with thelarge gear 68. In order to move the small gear out of mesh with thelarge gear, it is merely necessary to apply pressure to the knob 2| toswing it inwardly to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6and during this movement, the tooth 14 will act against the cam surface12 to swing the pivoted arm away from the cup 52 and then enter thenotch 13 and hold the pivoted arm in desired position. It will thus beseen that the inking wheel 30 may be held out of engagement with the rawsilk screen and with the ink thereon, and ribbon l1 may actuate theinking wheel without ink being taken up by the periphery of the wheel.

When the typist or operator finds that the ribbon needs additional ink,knob 2| is grasped and the lever I5 is moved outwardly to release thearm and allow the spring 16 to draw the arm yieldand projects forwardlytherefrom with its head in position to overlap and engage the outer sideedge face of lever 15. By adjusting the screw 28, the extent to whichthe lever may be swung outwardly is controlled and since the tooth ofthe lever has engagement with the cam surface of the arm at all timesexcept when it is engaged in the notch'or seat 13, the lever willconstitute means for limiting the extent to which the spring 18 may drawthe arm 80 towards the. cup 52' or large gear 88. Therefore the relationof the inking wheel 30 to the ink on the face of the raw silk screen 34will be controlled and the periphery of the inking wheel may be causedto barely contact the outer surface of the ink on said screen's outersurface or to press down through said ink so as to pick up a thicker,heavier film of ink during the inking operation when ink is beingtransferred to a face of ribbon I I to renew its ink supply and replaceink used in writing.

Reservoir 22 has a lid or hinged cover which may be locked in place by ascrew. Itis a simple matter to fill the reservoir. I prefer to use theordinary conventional black record pigment ink such as goes into theusual, commercial black' record inked ribbons and when using this heavy,pigment ink, there is no drainage of ink whatever but if one uses athinner ink and there is drainage, it is a quick, easy operation toremove the drain pan or member H and to empty it into reservoir 22 andthen replace said pan ll.

Even when the ribbon I1 is not receiving ink and the wheels 30 do nothave even the slightest contact with ink on the screen, or if no screenbe employed, with ink on the exposed portion of the periphery of the inkroller, nevertheless the ribbon moves under suflicient tension, byreason of the tensioning and rubbing pad l6 assisted by the guidepulleys and the sharp angle the ribbon takes between the spool and thetyping position, so that said ribbon is kept smooth and it windsup inthe spool in small space and it is possible to utilize a ribbon as muchas twentyfour yards long, and since the ribbon may be only one-fourthinch wide, the weight of the spool of ribbon is not appreciable,especially if a long fibre silk ribbon be used which has been producedin accordance with the directions contained in my U. S. Patent No.1,830,559.

In Figs. 11, 12 and 13, there has been illustrated a modified form ofinking mechanism which I may use in a typing machine having ribbonspools which are large and which lie in a vertical plane. Such machinesare in common use and have been for several years. The ribbon lies flatand smooth as it winds into the ribbon spool. Ink reservoir 11 ismounted at each side of the typing machine, near each winding spool andunwinding spool and said reservoir is supported in an elevated position.A housing 18 extends downwardly from the bottom of the reservoir tohouse inking roller 18. Housing 18 and roller 18 lie in a horizontalposition and in the bottom of the housing there is a slot 88 exposing aportion of said roller 18 for engagement by the periphery of inkingwheel 8|. The shaft 82 of the inking wheel is journaled.horizontallythrough the bracket 83 to mount the wheel in position for engagementwith theribbon 84 as it is wound upon the ribbon spool 85, and theperiphery of inking wheel 8| is formed with small teeth which pick upink from the surface of inking roller 19 and these teeth also serve tocreate considerable friction between said ribbon 84 and the periph- Iery of said wheel 8| so that said wheel. is rotated by the movement ofribbon 84. During rotation of inking wheel 8|, rotary motion is.

transmitted to the roller 18 by means of large gear 85 carried by shaft82, said large gear meshing with a small gear or pinion 86 carried bythe protruding end of the shaft 82 by means of which the roller 19 isrotatably mounted in the housing 18. Intermediate its length, the roller19 is provided with coarse teeth 88, meshing with the teeth of anagitator or mixing wheel 89 which is rotatably mounted in the reservoir11 on the shaft 90. Since the teeth of the agitator or ink mixing wheel88 are coarse, a good stirring action and mixing of the ink will occurwhen roller 19 rotates and ink in said reservoir will be caused to passfrom reservoir 11 into the housing 18 and upon the surface of roller 19for delivery to the periphery of inking wheel 8|, for transfer to aportion of writing ribbon 84 to renew its ink supply. The ink supply ofribbon 84 may be kept substantially even and uniform during the entirelife of its fabric for even writing.

' guides extend circumferentially of the inking wheels and in contactingengagement with the peripheries thereof and during use of the typingmachine, when it is desirable to transfer ink uniformly to the writingribbon, the movement of the ribbon will rotate the inking wheels and inturn the inking rollers and the ink mixers at each end of the reservoir.Between the guides or pulleys 41 and the ribbon spools, the ribboncontacts ink pads 46 which are held in rigid position and are preferablystationary. The pad near the winding spool will act to spread the inkjust applied to the ribbon by the inking Wheel and to press said inkinto the interstices of said ribbon on that face which is struck by thetype and which is away from the writing paper. The

ink pad close to the spool of ribbon which is unwinding will act toapply tension to said ribbon and to restrain it, keeping it flat andsmooth and taut as it passes to guide or pulley 4! and then to thetyping or printing position. I prefer to apply the ink to the ribbon bythe wheel which" is close to the spool which is winding the ribbon,although 'ink may be applied simultaneously by both inking wheels whenvery. large type are used, if desired by typist. If for any reason it isdesirable to discontinue feeding ink to the ribbon, the lever 2| of theinking wheel (see operative position shown by full linesin Fig. 6) maybe shifted inwardly to act against the cam surface of arm 80 and forcethe inking wheel away from the ink screen and the inking roller.

' periphery of the inking wheel in contact with the ink on either thescreens surface or the surface of the exposed portion of the roller. Inkwill be applied to a portion of one face of said ribbon by the inkingwheel during operation of the typing machine or during movement of theribbon I from spool to spool (whether the machine is used for writing ornot) and as the ribbon passes across the ink pad 46 (which preferably isof hard felt only slightly ink absorbent) the ink will be spread andpressed into the interstices of said ribbon.

As illustrated in the drawings, I prefer to use a very small gear belowthe inking wheel and a large gear for the ink roller. The ink roller maybe .007 inch from the housing near one end and .01 from the housing nearthe middle portion and .03 from housing at another part of the roller.The inner surface of the housing may be of any desired shape and theface of the roller may be corrugated or of any desired shape. It maybeentirely, covered with hard felt or certain por-.

tions of the roller may be uncovered. The roller may make one revolutionto six or eight revolutions of the inking wheel. .I prefer that theribbon contact the inking wheel along a portion only-of one face andthat the opposite face be entirely free from contact with a rotarymember at this point but if desired the ribbon may contact a pulleyalong the face opposite to the inking wheel and the other face contactthe inking wheel.

It is apparent that by tions, at'low co'st typing machines may operatefor long periods and have only one ribbon, which in some cases, maypreferably be only A inch wide,-thereby greatly .decreasing the firstcost of fabric and also diminishing the weight,of a full spool of inkedribbon in the machine.

While in the illustrations of my mechanisms,

' screens are used in contact with the inking roller,

these are not a necessity for all typing machines using my inventions.Also it is to be understood that the constructions shown areillustration only and variations may be made in sizes and styles ofparts'and in details without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. I do not limit myself as to the kinds of materials used inthe ribbon, reservoir, roller, tension means or any-other parts. I-mayuse one reservoir to feed ink to both inking mechanisms or I may usemore than one reservoir. I may use gears of the same size or I may usegears which cause the wheel and the ink roller to rotate at diiferentspeeds. I may use inking rollers which lie in a horizontal position or Imay use upright inking rollers. I do not limit myself as to the positionof the inking rollers nor do I limit myself as to the kind of ink used.However, I- prefer to use thick, pigment ink mixed with dye and oil andoleic acid.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a typing machine having a ribbon and a mechanism to produce typedimpressions on an impression receiving surface by means of said ribbon,means for inking said ribbon comprising a reservoir for ink, a housingin fluid communication with said reservoir, a roller within saidhousing,

in the notch 13. At

will draw the the use of my invenfor purposes of the housing closelyfitting about said roller to spread a film of ink over said roller, aportion of said roller being exposed, an inking member receiving inkfrom said roller at said exposed portion and-adapted to be contacted bysaid ribbon for transferring ink from said roller to said ribbon inminute quantities, means effecting driving connection between saidroller and member, and means for thinning said ink without varying theconstituents thereof during the rotation of said roller. 4

2. In a typing machine according to claim 1, means for driving saidroller and said inking member, the inner face of said housing beingsituthe periphery of said inking member in the ink on said roller.

5. A typing machine according to claim 1, in which the ink istransferred to that path along a face of said ribbon which is made bythe type in writing. Y

6. A typing machine according to claim 1, in which said inking memberand said roller are connected by suitable gears which drive said inkingmember at higher speed than said roller.

'7. A typing machine according to claim 1, in which the said inkingmember may be moved out of contact with the ink fed by said roller, sosaid member may revolve while said roller remains stationary.

8. A typing machine according to claim 1, in which said inking membermay be readily adjusted with respect to said roller to control theamount of ink fed to said inking member by said roller.

9. In a typing machine having a ribbon and a vmechanism to produce typedimpressions on a writing surface, means for inking said ribbon,including a reservoir for pigment ink, an inking roller connected withsaid reservoir; an inking wheel located near said roller; means forthinning and mixing said ink in said reservoir; the latter having anaperture to permit said ink to move by gravity therefrom; a housingenclosing a portion of said roller; means for controlling the amount ofink fed from said roller to said wheel for transfer to a face of saidribbon; driving means for driving said wheel and said roller to makesmall deposits of said pigment ink on said face of said ribbon.

10. A device for supplying ink to a writing ribbon of a typing machine,including a reservoir for pigment ink; an inking roller; means forcausing said ink to become sufficiently fluid that it may move bygravity along the face of said roller from said reservoir; an inkapplying element; a

stationary housing snugly enclosing a portion of of upon operation ofsaid roller.

13. A device according to claim 10, in which the roller is upright andthe means for causing said ink to become a fluid extends upwardly fromthe upright roller into the reservoir to agitate and mix the inktherein.

14. In a typing machine, employing an inked ribbon andmechanism forproducing inked impressions through said ribbon and also spools forwinding said ribbon, an ink reservoir for pigment ink; a rotatableinking member mounted on a vertical axis; an upright roller supported onan axis parallel to the axis which supports said member and positionedto transfer ink to said member, said member being positioned to transferthe ink to the ribbon; driving means for driving said member and saidroller; housing means extending longitudinally of said roller andclosely fitting about the same to confine a small amount of ink betweenthe inner face of said housing and the periphery of said roller; meanswithin said reservoir for liquefying said ink upon the rotation of saidroller; said reservoir being provided with means for the delivery ofsaid ink to said roller.

15. In a typing machine according to claim 14, a guide pulley adapted tobe driven by said ribbon and a surface over which the ribbon is adaptedto pass after application of ink thereto by said member, said surfacebeing adapted to press and spread said ink over at least a portion ofone face of said ribbon before it passes the typing position.

6. A device for supplying ink to a ribbon, including a reservoir forpigment ink; ink-feeding means, including an inking roller, an inkingwheel in close proximity to said roller to receive ink therefrom;ink-thinning means for causing said ink to become suificiently fluid topass by gravity through an aperture in the bottom portion of saidreservoir to a face of said roller for transfer to said inking wheel andthence to a face of said ribbon; and means for driving said wheel andsaid roller.

17. In a typing machine having a ribbon and him of ink over said roller;a portion of said roller being exposed; an ink applying member receivingink from said roller at said exposed portion and adapted to be contactedby said ribbon for transferring ink from said roller to said ribbon insmall quantities; means for driving said roller and member;.and saidreservoir lying in a plane above said member and above said exposedportion of said roller to the end that said ink may pass from saidreservoir by gravity.

18. A typing machine according to claim 17 in which the said inkapplying member rotates at a higher rate of speed than said roller.

19. A typing machine according to claim 17 in which the bottom of thereservoir is dished toward the communication between the reservoir andhousing to aid in the flow of the ink from said reservoir.

20. In a typing machine having a ribbon and a mechanism to produce typedimpressions on a writing surface by means of said ribbon; means forinking said ribbon comprising a reservoir for highly fluid pigment ink;a housing in fluid communication with said reservoir; a roller withinsaid housing; the housing closely fitting about said roller to spread afilm of ink over said roller;

a portion of said roller being exposed; an ink applying member receivingink from said roller at said exposed portion and adapted to be contactedby said ribbon for transferring ink from said roller to said ribbon insmall quantities; means for driving said roller and member; and saidreservoir lying in a plane above said member and above said exposedportion of said roller to the end that said ink may pass from saidreservoir by gravity; and a drainpan below said roller to collectsurplus ink which may drip from the latter. a

GEORGE E. PELTON.

